Good Choice

TigerBlog saw Tom Brady's stats from Sunday's 45-17 Tampa Bay win over Miami, and they looked eerily familiar.

Brady was 30 for 41 for 411 yards on the day. When TB first saw them, he was 30 for 41 for 412 yards, but one yard was taken away for some reason.

If you recall, those are pretty much Cole Smith's numbers from Princeton's opener against Lehigh. To be exact, Smith was also 30 for 41, and he threw for 412 yards, the original number TB saw for Brady. 

In other interesting statistical news, Brady is 44 and Smith is 22. The math there is easy. Whether you like Brady or not, it is unbelievable that someone his age can be doing the things he's doing in the NFL. 

Meanwhile, since the conversation is about Princeton football and the NFL, TB will combine the two subjects. It was great to see Caraun Reid back in the NFL Sunday, now with the Tennessee Titans. 

Reid is a defensive lineman with two career NFL touchdowns. That total has now been matched by Jesper Horsted, another Princeton football alum. 

Horsted caught a touchdown pass in the Chicago Bears' 20-9 win over Las Vegas Sunday. Horsted, if you recall, caught three in the Bears' final preseason game. 

The TD catch against the Raiders was his second in the regular season, after he pulled one in on Thanksgiving Day 2019. The catch Horsted made Sunday makes him an important historical note as well, since he was on the receiving end of Justin Fields' first NFL regular season TD pass.

The current Tigers played a very entertaining game this past Saturday, defeating Monmouth 31-28. Princeton trailed 21-6 at one point and led 28-21 at another. The game was won with 10 seconds left on Jeffrey Sexton's 35-yard field goal into the wind that blew off the Atlantic Ocean, which is about a half-mile or so from the field.

Sexton, by the way, had another field goal of 46 yards to end the first half and was 3 for 3 on extra points. His performance earned him Ivy League Special Teams and Rookie of the Week honors. 

And with that, TB can get into what he really wants to talk about today. Bob Surace's, um, well, insert whatever word you want to use.

Surace was faced with this situation Saturday: Fourth-and-1, his own 34, two minutes to play, 28-28. What would you do? What did Surace do? He went for it, of course.

If you look at it solely in terms of putting yourself in the best position to win the game, there's only one choice there. Go for it, just like he did.
 

If you don't get it, you can still get a stop, use your timeouts, force the field goal attempt and even if it's good have time to get the ball back. If you punt it, you're giving Monmouth the chance to drive a bit and take it all the way down before kicking the field goal - with the ocean breeze at its back.

The statement that Surace made was that he trusted everyone on his offense and defense. He's saying to Collin Eaddy - "we need a yard; get it for us." He's saying to his offensive line - "he needs yard; make sure you give him the chance." He's saying to his defense - "if this doesn't work, you'll get us the ball back."

The issue isn't whether you should go for it or not. The issue is whether coaches have the courage to do it. TB has no doubt that the smart play is to go for it there. He also has no doubt that very, very few other coaches would have had the courage to do so.

Why? Play it out. If Eaddy had been stopped, then Monmouth gets the ball back with a chance to win it. If the Hawks did so, then Surace gets the blame for his decision. If he punts and Monmouth drives and wins it, then he doesn't get the blame.

He doesn't get the blame, but he also doesn't get the win. It certainly had risk involved. If Eaddy had been stopped, then Monmouth had a great chance to win it.

TB saw Surace after the game, and they both shrugged their shoulders as if to say "duh, of course you go for it there."

Eaddy got the first down. Nine plays later, Sexton gave Princeton the win.

There's a time to punt. There's a time to be bold. That was a time to be bold.

Not every coach gets that.